Celtics-Bulls Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMANPosted Dec 18 2012 1:01AM

Kirk Hinrich's return didn't prevent the Chicago Bulls from finishing with their lowest point total in five seasons.

Now they are hoping Hinrich can help slow down Rajon Rondo and the Boston Celtics.

The turnover-prone Rondo turned in a huge effort the first time these teams met last month, and his Celtics will try to end a four-game road slide Tuesday night.

Hinrich returned after missing two games with a bruised left knee in Monday's 80-71 loss at Memphis. He made 2 of 8 shots for four points while finishing with five assists and four turnovers.

"It didn't feel as good as I would like to by any means, but it was good enough to go out there and play," Hinrich said.

Coach Tom Thibodeau defended his decision to allow the ineffective Hinrich to log seven minutes in the fourth quarter. Chicago's previous low point total over the last five seasons was in an 83-72 loss at Miami on April 19.

"You have to read how the group is going," Thibodeau said. "The group that got us back going in the game in the fourth quarter was when we had Kirk, Jimmy (Butler), Lu (Luol Deng), Taj (Gibson) and Jo (Joakim Noah) in there. When the group is on the floor, they gotta play well."

Hinrich was out with a strained right hip Nov. 12 when Boston (12-11) ended its five-game losing streak at the United Center with a 101-95 victory. Rondo had 20 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds and five steals while mostly going up against Nate Robinson.

The Celtics shot 50.6 percent for the second-best effort against the Bulls all season.

Chicago (13-10) wasted double-doubles from Deng and Noah that night. Deng had 26 points and 11 boards and Noah added 17 and 11.

Rondo will try to bounce back after he had six points, nine assists and his second straight seven-turnover effort in Saturday's 103-88 loss at San Antonio. He has 33 turnovers over his last six games and is averaging 3.9 per game - although he also leads the league with 12.7 assists per game.

Coach Doc Rivers was unhappy the Spurs had 20 free throws to his team's eight.

"It is what it is," Rivers said. "They shot more free throws and two of our free throws were just technicals. It's hard to win games on the road when a team goes to the line like that and we don't go to the line."

The Bulls will feature an entirely different backcourt than what the Celtics saw last month since Richard Hamilton is out indefinitely due to a torn plantar fascia in his left foot. Marco Belinelli has started the last eight games.

Hinrich's return resulted in rookie Marquis Teague not getting into Monday's game. Teague totaled 14 points and six assists the two previous games.

Carlos Boozer led Chicago with 16 points and 13 boards in Memphis. The Bulls were still outrebounded for the third straight game, 51-39.

Noah had 11 points, 13 rebounds and a career high-tying 10 assists for his second career triple-double.

"I always tell people I'm a point-center anyway," Noah joked after the game. "I always feel like I can pass the ball. I feel more comfortable with the offense and we have a lot of people who can score the ball in different ways."

Nate Robinson scored 18 points for Chicago and keyed a fourth-quarter surge that put the game out of reach, as the Bulls evened a 101-95 home loss to Boston on Nov. 12.

"(Noah) plays the game for the love of it," Robinson said. "If you watch him, he plays with his heart on his sleeve. Me and him, we are kind of similar with our energy."

Boston closed the half with a 7-2 run, with Rondo banking in a 3-pointer and scoring a layup to pull the Celtics within 55-48 at the break. Rondo had 13 points and five assists in the opening half, while Kevin Garnett added 10 points and seven boards while hitting all five of his shots from the floor.

Rondo had 13 points and three assists in the third quarter and brought the Celtics within three on a layup with 3:40 to go in the period. Chicago scored the next nine points and led 79-70 entering the final period.

One bright spot for Boston was that Rondo turned the ball over just three times after totaling 14 in his previous two outings. Rondo turned the ball over 33 times in Boston's six games coming in.

Boston was outscored 30-12 after narrowing the lead to three in the third. Garnett was 0 for 5 and went scoreless after halftime.

"I thought they were clearly the tougher team tonight," Rivers said. "The more physical team. It was not even close."

Deng scored 14 points in the first quarter, going 8 for 8 from the line as the Bulls took a 28-23 lead. Noah assisted on Chicago's first four field goals and finished with six rebounds and five assists in the period.

"(Noah) is amazing man, great passer," Boozer said. "Probably the best passing big man in the league. Underrated, plays hard, has great court vision."

NOTES: The Bulls held their previous two opponents under 40 percent shooting, but Boston was at 44 percent. ... Chicago has held 13 of its last 14 opponents under 100 points. ... Fan favorite Brian Scalabrine made his return to the United Center as a Celtics broadcaster. Scalabrine was a reserve on the Bulls the last two seasons before retiring during the summer. Towards the end of Bulls victories, fans would usually chant his name in an effort to entice Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau to insert him into the game. A few fans chanted "Scal-a-brine" towards the end of Tuesday's game.

The Celtics have lost a season-high three straight games, all on the road.

The Bulls improved to 4-2 in the second of back-to-back games this season. Chicago bounced back from an 80-71 loss in Memphis on Monday, putting up their lowest point total in five seasons.

One bright spot for Boston was that Rondo turned the ball over just three times after totaling 14 in his previous two outings. Rondo turned the ball over 33 times in Boston's six games coming in.

The Bulls blew the game open with a 16-5 run to start the fourth quarter. Robinson hit three of his five 3-pointers during the run and scored 15 of his 18 points from behind the arc.

Noah fed Taj Gibson for his 10th assist with 8:07 to go in the fourth, increasing Chicago' advantage to 15. His previous triple-double came against Milwaukee on Feb. 22.

Gibson scored a season-high 13 points off the bench, seven in the fourth quarter.

Robinson and Jimmy Butler scored six points each as the Bulls extended their lead to 13 points in the second quarter. Robinson two 3-pointers, and the Bulls shot 54 percent in the first half.

Boston closed the half with a 7-2 run, with Rondo banking in a 3-pointer and scoring a layup to pull the Celtics within 55-48 at the break. Rondo had 13 points and five assists in the opening half, while Kevin Garnett added 10 points and seven boards while hitting all five of his shots from the floor.

Rondo had 13 points and three assists in the third quarter and brought the Celtics within three on a layup with 3:40 to go in the period. Chicago scored the next nine points and led 79-70 entering the final period.

Boston was outscored 30-12 after narrowing the lead to three in the third. Garnett was 0 for 5 and went scoreless after halftime.

Deng scored 14 points in the first quarter, going 8 for 8 from the line as the Bulls took a 28-23 lead. Noah assisted on Chicago's first four field goals and finished with six rebounds and five assists in the period.

NOTES: The Bulls held their previous two opponents under 40 percent shooting, but Boston was at 44 percent. ... Chicago has held 13 of its last 14 opponents under 100 points. ... Fan favorite Brian Scalabrine made his return to the United Center as a Celtics broadcaster. Scalabrine was a reserve on the Bulls the last two seasons before retiring during the summer. Towards the end of Bulls victories, fans would usually chant his name in an effort to entice Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau to insert him into the game. A few fans chanted "Scal-a-brine" towards the end of Tuesday's game.

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Notebook: Bulls 100, Celtics 89

THE FACTS: Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer each scored 21 points, and Joakim Noah had his second career triple-double with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists as the Bulls dominated the visiting Boston Celtics 100-89 on Tuesday. The Bulls maintained the lead that came from a very well played first half, and never trailed in the second half. Rajon Rondo had 26 points for the Celtics, who have lost three games in a row.

THE FACTS II: The Bulls played a tremendous first half on the way to a 55-48 halftime lead. They shot 54 percent from the field, made all nine free throws, had only three turnovers, and had 17 assists on 22 baskets.

FUN FACTS: The Bulls scored almost as many points in the first half Tuesday (55) as they did in the entire game against Memphis on Monday (71).

QUOTABLE I: "We are not a good team right now. This is who we are. We are a .500 team."

-- Boston coach Doc Rivers, whose club fell to 12-12 with the loss.

THE STAT: The Bulls shot better from 3-point range (56 percent) than overall (50 percent). Nate Robinson was 5-for-7 from 3-point range and 1-for-5 from inside the arc.

THE STAT II: The Bulls outrebounded the Celtics 43-35 and had 10 blocked shots (Noah with three) while the Celtics only had two blocks.

THE STAT III: The Bulls bench outscored the Celtics bench 37-16, led by Robinson's 18 points.

TURNING POINT: The Bulls scored nine straight points at the end of the third quarter to spread a three-point lead into a 12-point advantage. They led by as many as 21 in the fourth quarter before letting the Celtics have the last 10 points of the game.

INJURY UPDATE:Kirk Hinrich of the Bulls played 23-plus minutes in the second game after coming back from a bruised knee. He missed both shots he took and did not score.

HOT: Boozer was 10-for-17 from the field and added 12 rebounds for the Bulls.

NOT: The Celtics bench was 5-for-23 from the field for its 16 points. Jared Sullinger missed all six of his shots and had more fouls (four) than rebounds (three) in 15 minutes.

QUOTABLE II: "Nothing better."
-- Bulls center Joakim Noah when asked about how it feels to beat the Celtics. Noah was responsible for starting a rivalry between the two teams with a spirited performance in the playoffs several years ago.

GOOD MOVE: Uncharacteristically, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau started the second quarter with starting center Joakim Noah and four bench players -- Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, Nate Robinson and rookie Marquis Teague. The Bulls increased a five-point lead to a 13-point edge with the four bench players in.

BAD MOVE: It's called the Rush Street factor. Chicago is perhaps the most popular city for NBA teams to visit because of its accessible and abundant night life, and the Celtics went straight from San Antonio to Chicago on Sunday, spending three days in town.

NOTABLE: The Bulls are 4-2 on their current stretch against teams with winning records. They still have four more games against winning or .500 teams before playing Washington Dec. 29. ... The Bulls were credited with 28 assists on 37 baskets. ... The Celtics only had nine turnovers in the game.